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While every World Cup introduces viewers to new young stars, this tournament featured eight players who were older than 40 — one more than the number of over-40 players in the previous 22 World Cups combined.

Among them were Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Mexico’s Memo Ochoa, 40, who were playing in their sixth World Cups alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, a relative youngster at 39. No one has played in more men’s World Cups.

But while Ronaldo and Ochoa have gone home, Messi will be playing in his third semifinal in four tournaments Wednesday when Argentina, the reigning champion, faces England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The newfound longevity of elite soccer players has been made possible by advances in sports medicine, diet and analytics that measure everything from biomechanics and heart rate to muscular output and sleep cycles, all in real time. And injuries that once ended careers can now be repaired through outpatient procedures.

Argentina star Lionel Messi holds his jersey up and celebrates with teammates after a World Cup quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

(David Ramos / Getty Images)

“Over the past 10, 20 years, the sports science within the game has changed a lot,” said Liam Anderson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham in England, who has worked as an applied practitioner in top-flight professional soccer for more than a decade.

“Players are now definitely more aware of their bodies and I think the professionalism has changed quite a lot as well. But they’re also in tune with the things which are helping them recover, manage their training load and ultimately stay fitter and healthier for longer.”

Gone are the days when chain-smoking Dutch legend Johan Cruyff would light up a cigarette on the bench, French world champion Zinedine Zidane would smoke in the locker room and George Best would party and drink so hard he would disappear for days at a time.

“There’s a couple of reasons,” Dr. Michael Joyner, a specialist in the physiology of elite athletes at the Mayo Clinic, said of the growing lifespan of soccer players. “The first is that people just make a lot more money and as a result, there’s tremendous incentive to keep playing. The second is people are taking much better care of themselves.”

“You just don’t hear about people like George Best anymore,” said Joyner, speaking for himself and not the clinic where he works.

“Diet is huge,” Anderson added. “High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”

And those diets are tailored by position since a midfielder, who may run more than seven miles in a match, burns more calories than a goalkeeper.

As the eldest player in Major League Soccer, Diego Chara has had to make some concessions to age.

“It’s a little detailed,” said Chara, a midfielder with the Portland Timbers. “Talking about recovery time, it maybe takes a little bit longer than before. Nutrition. Working in the gym, it’ll be longer than other players.”

But if Chara, 40, is an old man in a league where the average age is younger than 26, he would have been something of whippersnapper in this summer’s World Cup.

The Portland Timbers’ Diego Chará passes the ball under pressure from the Columbus Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali on Feb. 21in Portland, Ore.

(Amanda Loman / Associated Press)

Soccer isn’t the only sport in which 40 is the new 30.

Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon this summer at age 44 and at least half a dozen athletes 40 and older showed up at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last February hoping to medal. Four of them succeeded, including American Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, who became the oldest athlete to win an individual gold in Winter Olympics history in the women’s monobob.

It isn’t unheard of for athletes to be golden in their golden years. Ted Williams hit .316 at 41 and Gordie Howe played 80 games and had 41 points in his final NHL season at 52. Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter and pitched 173 innings at 44 while Tom Brady quarterbacked the Tampa Bay Bucs to a Super Bowl title at 43.

But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.

“People are just staying in better shape, taking care of themselves,” Joyner said. “Career-changing or career-ending injuries are no longer career-ending injuries. It just goes on and on, all of this stuff combined.”

American Serena Williams, 44, serves against Australian Maya Joint during a match at Wimbledon on June 30.

(Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)

State-of-the-art training centers and access to top-line sports medicine have also become more accessible, even in poor countries.

“The elite level has spread and really become global, as opposed to where there used to be pockets,” Joyner said. “The opportunities to compete are so great.”

Few team sports are as physically demanding as soccer, though, which makes both the growing number of seasoned citizens and their performances noteworthy. Messi has averaged nearly a game a week for club and country during the past 23 years, yet he entered the semifinals of this tournament tied for the scoring lead with France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is 12 years younger.

Ronaldo has played even more games yet he became the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout game when his penalty kick helped eliminate Croatia and midfielder Luka Modric, who will be 41 in less than two months.

“They’ve probably lost a little bit off the top, but their experience and their mind make up for that,” said Scott Trappe, a professor of human bioenergetics at Ball State. “So the overall package of them as a sports person is really they’re contributing at a high level. I think we’re going to continue to see this movement.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a World Cup group stage goal against Uzbekistan on June 23 in Houston.

(Charlotte Wilson / Getty Images)

“They like playing the sport and as long as they can and contribute and they make these teams, they’re going to do it. I don’t see the trend going away.”

And that will not only change the way we think of sports and athletes, it will completely rewrite the record book. Messi, for instance, entered the semifinals of this World Cup as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals. But that was just one ahead of Mbappé, who could appear in another three or four World Cups.

“No question,” Trappe said. “You look what’s going on in pro cycling. We’ve got some guys in their upper 30s competing in the Tour de France, but we also have a teenager competing. So this lifespan, what used to be a five- to eight-year period for cycling at the at the highest levels is turning out to be, you know, double or triple that.”

Both Messi and Ronaldo have benefited from how they play as well, walking rather running for long stretches of the game to conserve energy for the burst they need to lose a defender. It’s a strategy Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland and other young players have adopted and if they do that over enough games, the wear and tear it saves could add years to the end of their careers.

“We are expanding. The age will start moving up a little bit further up and players’ careers will definitely be longer,” Anderson said. “The sort of normal distribution of playing age will begin to move forward and that experience within the squad will be key.’

Argentina’s Lionel Messi dribbles the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

(Charlie Riedel / Ap Photo/charlie Riedel)

Consider Wednesday’s semifinalists. In its quarterfinal win, Argentina used six players older than 32 and two — Messi and defender Nicolas Otamendi — who are over 38. The spine of England’s team runs from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford through defender John Stones to striker Harry Kane, who are all 32.

“We’re coming up with new ways on how to improve and maximizing potential,” Anderson said. “God gave us what we are and it’s maximizing that, not necessarily changing that.”

That knowledge won’t stay in the stadiums and locker rooms for long, expanding to others who choose to adopt the same wellness discipline as professional athletes.

“It cycles down,” Trappe said. “We’re studying that in the lab at a pretty high level. This sort of healthy lifestyle in terms of functionality and extending into our later years and having a higher quality life, there’s data starting to emerge there.

“These types of things are going to trickle into that for sure.”

With his father – former big leaguer Clay Bellinger – in attendance, the New York Yankees player earned MVP honours.

Cody Bellinger had a night for the ages.

His young daughters sat next to him and his father watched from the back of the room as he spoke about winning Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

“Just being able to hang out and watching him win an award, it’s pretty cool,” former Yankee Clay Bellinger said after his son’s two-run single in the first inning off Cristopher Sanchez started the American League to a 4-0 win on Tuesday night.

Cody re-signed with the Yankees last winter for a $162.5m, five-year deal and he has been a key part of the offence. He was hitting .280 through mid-June before a slump dropped his average to .254 heading into the All-Star break. Bellinger hasn’t homered in a month.

“Baseball is the craziest game in the world. It really is. Sometimes it’s unexplainable,” he said. “Going into the break, I actually was feeling pretty good. I felt like I was on the right track.”

Clay Bellinger was an outfielder and infielder for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, winning a pair of World Series titles, and then finished his big league career with the Anaheim Angels in 2002.

Cody was five years old when his father won his second World Series title. Clay never imagined the player Cody would turn into.

“I knew he was good, but not this good,” Clay said.

‘Took a long time to get back’

Cody became the fourth Yankees player to win the All-Star Game MVP after Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022).

“Wearing this jersey – I feel proud wearing it,” he said. “It comes with a lot.”

Bellinger, who turned 31 on Monday, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 and made the All-Star team in 2017, when he was voted NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 47 homers in 2019 and was voted the NL MVP after making his second All-Star team.

“I was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll be here every year,’” he said. “It took a long time to get back. It’s such a competitive league.”

He followed with three straight subpar seasons, missing time in 2021 because of calf, hamstring and rib injuries. He was cut after the 2022 season and signed a $17.5m, one-year deal with the Cubs.

Bellinger hit a career-high .307 with 29 homers and 97 RBIs, became a free agent again and signed an $80m, three-year contract with the Cubs. After a subpar, injury-slowed season, he was dealt to the Yankees.

He tested the free-agent market, then decided to stay in pinstripes.

“He loves it there,” Clay said. “He loves the teammates, loves the city, loves playing in Yankee Stadium. So, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Daughters Caiden and Cy accompanied Cody onto the field along with his wife, Chase, for photos after he received his award from Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

“You always hope for your kids to do well, whether or not it’s playing baseball or doing whatever they like to do,” Clay said. “He’s been pretty good at it for quite a long time.”

PHILADELPHIA — Pete Crow-Armstrong was 9 years old, maybe 10. He can’t remember for sure. But he clearly remembers the scene: a journey from his San Fernando Valley home to Angel Stadium, for a game featuring Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees.

Jeter wasn’t an outfielder, though. Crow-Armstrong sat in right-center field, with a great view of an Angels’ phenom.

“I absolutely followed Mike Trout,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I would have followed him if he were in freaking Seattle.

“He was — he still is — the only one to ever really do what I’ve ever seen him do in my life.”

A decade and a half later, in an All-Star Game that was short on drama and long on tributes to Trout, the hometown hero and future Hall of Famer, Crow-Armstrong shared center field with Trout.

“That,” the Chicago Cubs’ star said, “is a cool nugget I’ll always keep with me.”

With a two-run single in the first inning from All-Star Game MVP and former Dodger Cody Bellinger giving the American League the only runs it would need, the AL shut out the National League on Tuesday, 4-0.

The three Dodgers in the NL starting lineup — Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Andy Pages — went hitless.

Freddie Freeman and Mike Trout embrace during the fourth inning.

(Al Bello / Getty Images)

Justin Wrobleski, the lone Dodgers pitcher, gave up a home run to former Dodger Miguel Vargas but pitched two innings and struck out five, the most strikeouts in an All-Star Game since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez struck out five in 1999 — and, before that, Fernando Valenzuela did it in 1986.

Trout went hitless in three at-bats. After he grounded out in his final at-bat, Freeman enveloped him in an impromptu bear hug.

“I love Freddie,” Trout said.

There was a fireworks show after the fourth inning, with kids riding bicycles onto the field a la “The Sandlot.” Trout offered swing tips to one of the kids. Freeman played catch with another.

“One of the cooler moments I’ve ever been a part of on the baseball field,” Freeman said. “It makes you feel like a kid again.”

Mike Trout signs autographs before the home run derby Monday.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Before the game, Freeman addressed his fellow NL All-Stars, followed by Bryce Harper and Chris Sale. Freeman channeled his inner Ferris Bueller, reminding his younger peers to stop and appreciate every moment.

“It’s going fast,” Freeman said. “There’s a lot going on. Make sure you take a step back.”

Trout savored every moment with friends and family, including his two sons, in the festivities. In an interview with MLB Network, his 2-year-old scampered off the stage. His 5-year-old, asked if he would be a better player than his dad, said yes.

“It’s special to be able to sit back and remember the special experiences when you were a kid,” Trout said. “It’s a full circle. Just trying to enjoy every minute of it.”

He got a nice ovation from the Philadelphia crowd, which he knew better than to take for granted. The crowd engaged in lively and targeted booing: mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met; the guy that beat the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber in the home run derby on Monday; a guy that played for the Houston Astros when they beat the Phillies in the World Series five years ago; anyone playing for the Dodgers or any of the Phillies’ NL East rivals.

Juan Soto, especially. But not Trout.

“It means a lot,” Trout said. “I know how Phillies fans are when an opposing player comes in here, and it’s usually boos.”

As he spoke with the media, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays walked by.

“I love you,” Caminero said.

Mike Trout bats in the first inning Tuesday.

(Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)

Trout had just saluted a fellow All-Star, Detroit Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle, who like Trout grew up in the area, rooting for the Phillies. McGonigle was 6 when Trout made his major league debut.

“The way he plays the game, it’s like a young Trout out there, just with how hard he plays,” Trout said.

Trout turns 35 next month, far closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Justin Verlander is retiring at the end of the season, and Freeman said he hoped Trout’s accomplishments would not be lost amid the Verlander accolades at the All-Star Game.

“I know Justin’s been getting his flowers the last couple days, and rightfully so,” Freeman said. “Mike deserves it until he retires, because he’s one of the best players of all time.”

Verlander was all too happy to share the legacy of Trout in the AL clubhouse, and not just for the benefit of the twentysomethings in the room.

“He took the baseball world by storm,” Verlander said, “one of those generational talents that does everything — great outfielder, great baserunner, all the pop you would want. He was a complete player and generational talent for a reason.

“I always loved watching him play. I remember sitting there watching him hit a triple, and — I forget the teammate, but he was literally hitting me on the leg, like, watch him run, watch him run. He was, like, floating. He’s a once-in-a-generation guy for a reason.”

By his standards, Trout was unusually reflective after the game. He was the dominant player of the previous decade, but before Tuesday he had not taken an All-Star at-bat in this decade.

He grew up here, watching Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins play for the Phillies. Now he has youngsters like Crow-Amstrong and McGonigle telling him they grew up watching him.

“It makes you feel like you’ve done something,” Trout said. “For me, since day one, I’ve always played this game how I saw a lot of guys when I was young, watching Utley and JRo and Jeter. Play the game right. Play the game hard.

“You never know when it’s your last.”

PHILADELPHIA — Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star most valuable player Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. Wrobleski struck out five in two innings.

The AL won for the 18th time in 23 games and holds a 49-45-2 advantage overall.

Singles by Juan Soto in the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth and Otto Lopez in the ninth were the only hits by the NL, which failed to advance a runner past first.

Pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts, 15 by AL hurlers.

Cease struck out Kyle Schwarber, Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers.

Chicago White Sox’s Miguel Vargas is greeted by Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle after homering.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Joe Ryan, Nick Martinez, Cade Smith, Drew Rasmussen, Jacob Latz, Louis Varland, Aroldis Chapman and Bryan Baker finished the first All-Star shutout since the AL’s 2-0 win in 2013 at New York’s Citi Field.

Some starting star power was missing, with Jacob Misoriowski, Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani all unavailable. Just six pitches reached 100 mph, the fewest in an All-Star Game since 2021.

Bellinger and Rice singled on up sinkers from Sánchez, who struggled through a 34-pitch inning that included three hits and two walks.

“It just took me a little time to soak it all in and enjoy it,” Sánchez said through an interpreter.

Some of the festivities before Tuesday’s All-Star game.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Mike Trout, a 12-time All-Star who hadn’t played in the game since 2019 because of injuries and was the Angels’ only representative, went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

For the Dodgers, Max Muncy and Andy Pages each went 0 for 2, Freddie Freeman went 0 for 1 with a walk, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not pitch.

Early exit

Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero was hit on the outside of his left hand by a 97.6-mph sinker from St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning and immediately left the game. The 23-year-old, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse. X-rays were negative.

Documenting the day

Managers and starters entered through replica Liberty Bells in front of each dugout, walked to home plate and used a feathered quill to sign an oversized lineup card, as if they were Founding Fathers affixing names to the Declaration of Independence. The dirt was surrounded by 13 stars, one for each of the Colonies.

Mike Trout of the Angels and AL manager John Schneider of Toronto embrace after coming out of a faux Liberty Bell.

(Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)

Fireworks were set off after the fourth inning to a video of Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” at Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.

Philadelphia was awarded this year’s All-Star Game in 2019, an unusually long lead time to coincide with the U.S. 250th anniversary. The Phillies hosted the 1976 and ’96 games at Veterans Stadium and the Athletics in 1943 and ’52 at Shibe Park.

Next year’s game is scheduled for the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field for the first time since 1990.

Folarin Balogun insists that the red card controversy surrounding him during the World Cup was not the reason the U.S. lost 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16.

But, the breakout American star said Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show, “it didn’t help.”

“As an athlete, you go into a game that’s already difficult enough with everything that goes on, the pressure,” Balogun said. “So to have more pressure, not just internally [but also] from almost the whole footballing world, was difficult. But it’s not an excuse. We were disappointed with the way it ended, but there’s still a lot to be proud of.”

Balogun, a birthright U.S. citizen whose Nigerian parents live in England, scored his third goal in four World Cup games during a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara. But he also received a straight red card for stomping on the ankle of Bosnian center back Tarik Muharemović, meaning the top-scoring American player would have to miss the next game.

It was a controversial call, with some feeling the red card was unwarranted since Balogun’s action didn’t seem intentional.

Then came an even more controversial call, when President Trump reached out to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for the decision to be reviewed. On July 6, the day before the U.S.-Belgium game, FIFA announced that Balogun’s suspension had been lifted and he would be allowed to play the following day.

The only other time a red-card suspension was overruled during a World Cup was in 1962, when Brazilian attacker Garrincha was allowed to play in the final after Brazil’s prime minister lobbied on his behalf.

“My initial reaction was, I was happy to be back in the team,” Balogun said Tuesday on “CBS Mornings.” “But when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy.”

He was correct about that. Although Infantino insisted that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee makes its decisions independently, the reversal caused outrage among many in the soccer world. Belgium submitted an appeal, but it was rejected hours before the game.

Amid all that, the U.S. had to prepare for Belgium — first without and then with Balogun in the mix. He told CBS the situation was “confusing” for all involved.

“I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves, because it’s something that is so unique,” Balogun said. “But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”

He added, though, that he and his teammates were “able to separate the emotion from the job at hand,” and the distractions didn’t contribute to the disappointing loss.

“We’re all professionals, so it’s not something I think was too difficult to be separate once we kind of got over the initial announcement that I’d be back in the team,” Balogun said. “I think you saw definitely it was a difficult game against Belgium, and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not. … I know we had full concentration going into the game.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.

Spain punched its ticket to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

And it wasn’t even close. France came into the game with 16 goals, second only to Argentina in the tournament, then failed to put a shot on goal in the first 81 minutes

It had Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this summer and was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar. He was all but invisible until, frustrated, he felled Spanish keeper Unai Simón with a cheap shot in the final minutes, drawing a well-deserved yellow card.

France couldn’t even score into an open net, with Desire Doue lining a low shot right at a rapidly retreating Simón, who had come well off his line and left the goal unattended. For Simón, Tuesday’s clean sheet was his sixth in seven games in this tournament.

Spain will meet the winner of Wednesday’s second semifinal between England and reigning champion Argentina on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.\

France’s Kylian Mbappé reacts after losing to Spain during a World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

“Whoever comes, comes,” teenage center back Pau Cubarsí said in Spanish. “I don’t think I want any of them. Let it be God’s will. We’re going to New York and then we’ll figure out who needs to come.”

Winning with defense may not be attractive, but it’s certainly been effective. And for Spain, the approach certainly fits with its team-first mentality.

“There was some talk that our defense and goalkeeping weren’t up to par. But I think we’ve silenced a lot of critics,” Cubarsí said. “We’ve only conceded one goal and we’re in the final.

“This is a team effort, both those who play and those on the bench.”

Added right back Pedro Porro: “We’re just continuing to work with humility. We’ve been doing things right and building on our strengths. We’ve also been correcting the things we haven’t done well. We’re just taking it step by step.”

It wasn’t so much that France played poorly, although they did. It was that Spain forced them to play that way.

France had never trailed in the tournament, but it fell behind in this one on Mikel Oyarzabal’s successful penalty shot in the 22nd minute. Lucas Digne was called for the foul when he chested down an errant pass from Spain’s Marc Cucurella on the edge of the 18-yard box, then reached out his left boot to control it, only to catch the leg of Spain’s Lamine Yamal who was charging in from the blind side.

Salvadoran referee Iván Barton immediately pointed to the spot and Oyarzabal stepped up and obliged, beating French keeper Mike Maignan into the side netting at the right post for his fifth goal of the tournament. The score was the first Maignan had allowed in the knockout rounds, snapping a 360-minute scoreless streak and it would be all Spain would need to get to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won its only World Cup.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon makes a save in front of France’s Theo Hernandez during a World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.

(Jessica Tobias / Associated Press)

Maignan didn’t do any better on the second shot he faced, this one coming 13 minutes into the second half when Porro came in alone on the keeper, then used his right foot to flick the ball by the goalkeeper to double Spain’s lead.

“My son couldn’t come today because he’s feeling a little under the weather with a fever,” said Porro, who dedicated his goal to the boy. “It was a mix of emotions because he couldn’t be here, and then his dad scored a goal.

“I wanted to look out at the stands and the only people there were my partner, my father-in-law and my physical therapist.”

For Porro, the goal was a measure of redemption as well. There were doubters when coach Luis de la Fuente named him to the World Cup team and those critics grew louder when De la Fuente made him a starter.

But those critics fell notably silent Tuesday.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” Porro said. “Obviously, I never imagined — not even in my wildest dreams — that I’d be playing in this World Cup the way I am.

Spain’s Pedro Porro celebrates after beating France during a World Cup semifinal Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.

(Florencia Tan Jun / Getty Images)

“But it’s also thanks to my teammates, and thanks to the coach for the confidence he’s shown in me from the very beginning.”

Spain hasn’t lost a game in the knockout phase of a World Cup since 2006 — when it fell to France — playing to draws in the round of 16 in the last two tournaments before being eliminated both times on penalties. They didn’t let it come down to that this time.

“We’re in a final. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Cubarsí, 19. “Maybe I’m still too young for everything I’m going through right now. But soccer is something to be enjoyed. Opportunities will come your way if you’re willing to make sacrifices and all that.”

For French coach Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, the loss marked his penultimate game with a team he’s taken to two World Cup finals in 15 years as coach. He had earlier announced he would be stepping aside after the tournament. Instead of capping raucous Bastille Day celebrations in France with a trip to the World Cup final, Deshamps and his squad will travel to Miami to play in the third-place game.

Some players knelt at the final whistle, head down, staring at the turf.

“There’s obviously a lot of disappointment,” Deschamps said. “The players are devastated because we had high hopes. Even so, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a step behind technically against a team that played very well.

“It’s our fault, first and foremost.”

Well, not really. The credit should go to Spain.

Erling Haaland is a character.

Hardcore soccer fans already knew that about the Premier League’s top scorer. Casual fans certainly found out during Norway’s run to the World Cup quarterfinal round, where they lost 2-1 to England on Saturday.

Case in point: After the team’s plane landed at Oslo Airport on Monday, the 6-foot-5 striker with flowing blond hair stepped out with a rather unusual carry-on tucked under his left arm.

It was a taxidermy raccoon clutching an empty liquor bottle.

“It followed me home,” Haaland wrote in an Instagram post that also included a photo of himself carrying his new prized possession.

The stuffed creature was one of many purchases Haaland made during his team’s stay in Dallas for its round of 32 game against Ivory Coast on June 30. Following the 2-1 victory at AT&T Stadium, Norway’s all-time leading scorer decided he wanted to add a little Texas style to his look before departing for East Rutherford, N.J., for the next round.

“I want just a cowboy hat,” Haaland said at the time, as seen in a video posted on his YouTube channel. “That’s all I want.”

He ended up getting much more during what ended up being a 90-minute visit to Wild Bill’s Western Store with some team staff members just hours after the game.

Norway’s Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after his team’s World Cup round of 32 game against Ivory Coast on June 30 in Arlington, Texas.

(Jessica Tobias / AP Photo)

“Just every department: boots, hats, belt, buckles, T-shirts, Western shirts,” store co-owner Julie Newport told The Times of Haaland’s purchases. “It was such a fun time for all of us because they were all chill and relaxed, and our team was just doing their job, you know, getting in the right sizing and having some fun with them.”

At some point while roaming the store, Haaland noticed the hard-partying raccoon and had to have it. His haul ended up including two taxidermy squirrels as well — one dressed as a sheriff and the other posed to look like it is drinking out of a Budweiser can.

The so-called Whiskey Raccoon sells for $750, and the squirrels go for $450 each. Because of their price tags, the taxidermy items weren’t typically huge sellers. Instead, Newport said, folks mainly liked coming by and posing for pictures with them.

Now, however, they are sold out and in high demand. Newport said three of the raccoons are on order and should be in-store by next week. After that, she said, the availability depends on whether they can talk the man who makes them out of retirement.

Other items that Haaland purchased and featured on his YouTube video have also been flying off the shelves. Those include a gray Stetson Brenham cowboy hat, Dan Post python boots and a T-shirt that proclaims “Y’all Can Kiss My Dallas.”

“We opened up international shipping for the first time ever, and so we started shipping to Norway, to Germany, to the UK,” Newport said. “I added Brazil and Australia this morning, and luckily our supplier is able to keep us with it.”

She added: “We’re so grateful because we’re one store. We’re locally owned, you know? So this is an incredibly exciting time for us, and we’re learning how to pivot and handle this kind of exposure and traction with sales. It’s just been a really wild ride.”

Born to Norwegian parents in Leeds, England, Haaland moved with his parents to their hometown of Byrne at age 3. He has played for Manchester City since 2022 and has won the Premier League’s golden boot for most goals scored in three of the last four seasons, including his 27-goal effort in 2025-2026.

During the World Cup, Haaland garnered a stateside fan base with his seven goals in five matches, as well as his quirky social media posts and fun personality. Few were likely surprised when Haaland asked on his Instagram Story for help naming “my new buddy” (a.k.a. the Whiskey Raccoon). The choices were Cowboy, Ranger, Tex or R.O.W. (Raccoon On Wheels).

“I think it’s a good thing because I like the Americans,” Haaland said of his newfound U.S. popularity during a team news conference last week. “I think they are kind of hilarious as well. They are funny. I like the way they are.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Ranking the summer movies I’ve seen this year: 1. Supergirl. 2. Young Washington. 3. Disclosure Day. 4. Masters of the Universe. 5. The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Here we go again

Before you go any further, if you don’t like politics in your Dodgers newsletter, which is a perfectly respectable opinion, THEN SKIP TO THE NEXT ITEM!

OK. The Dodgers are visiting President Trump and the White House on July 23 to celebrate their 2025 World Series title. This has caused quite a controversy, again, just like when they visited last year to celebrate the 2024 World Series title. Should the Dodgers visit the White House?

Here are some things I know:

1. The Dodgers have the largest Latino fan base of any team in baseball. Many of them despise Trump because of what ICE has done to their communities, which includes rounding up and detaining people who are here in the country legally, many of whom were born here.

2. Many Latinos who were born in L.A. and lived here their whole lives have been stopped and asked to provide identification merely because they are Latino. That’s not how this country is supposed to work.

3. Even if you somehow have no problem with the above, on a business level the Dodgers risk turning those fans into non-fans by visiting this White House.

4. There are players and members of the organization who are supporters of President Trump and would like to visit this White House.

5. This is the organization of Jackie Robinson and Fernando Valenzuela. Do I have to say more?

So, here’s what I would do if I owned the Dodgers. “The Dodgers thank President Trump for his invitation to visit him at the White House. As a policy, the Dodgers as an organization no longer accept political invitations of any kind. However, any member the the organization, be it player or front office personnel, is more than welcome to accept the invitation on their own behalf and visit.”

And, according to Dave Roberts, no one is being forced to go. “I’m sure a lot of guys are going to participate and be there, and this is an individual choice,” Roberts said. “But I do expect a lot of our guys to be there.”

It will be interesting to see who isn’t there.

No matter who is in office, the trip to the White House is a photo op to show how the president is a person of the people, especially a person of the people of the city that team represents. It’s all for show.

What I do find interesting is Roberts. In 2020, he said this when George Floyd was killed: “It’s disappointing to see my generation and the generation prior failing the younger generation. And that’s what’s really sad. You always hope for progress, but that just, unfortunately, isn’t the case.

“For me, the leaders of our country, unfortunately, aren’t good listeners and that’s how you impose change. People of color want to be heard. And when you have leaders that are put in positions to make change and don’t want to have those uncomfortable conversations, then change isn’t going to happen. There’s a difference between being educated and being ignorant. You have to understand that these situations happen every single day to people of color.”

And this is Roberts this year: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.

“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country. For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. . . . For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”

From making a giant political statement in 2020 to “not try to make political statements” in 2026 is quite a shift.

And Kiké Hernández will not be there, because he is going to be on a rehab assignment: “It’s going to be hard to be in two cities at the same time,” Hernández said. “If I was active, I probably wouldn’t have gone anyways.” And then he said why:

“I’d rather take a day off than do team activities.”

Which didn’t stop him from going last year. However, during the height of the ICE raids in L.A., he wrote this on Instagram: “This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights.”

So, that’s a summation of something that used to be a fun day. And that ends the political discourse for this newsletter.

For another viewpoint on this, please read Bill Plaschke’s column.

Do the Dodgers’ first draft picks pan out?

The draft was last weekend, and with their first pick (40th overall) the Dodgers selected shortstop Bo Lowrance of Christ Church Episcopal High in Greenville, S.C. Lowrance was expected to be chosen well before 40, so the Dodgers were pleased. Why was the Dodgers’ first pick at 40? Because they were penalized 10 spots in the draft for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax.

Lowrance told reporters he has modeled himself after Freddie Freeman. “He’s obviously a first baseman, and I’m on the left side, so defensively a little different,” Lowrance said. “But he’s still unbelievably athletic, and a big thing that I’ve watched for years is his approach and how he uses the whole field. … [Freeman is] somebody that I’m always trying to emulate.”

Pretty good guy to emulate. But how well does the first pick by the Dodgers do? Let’s take a look.

2010
Zach Lee, pitcher
Pitched only 12.2 innings in the majors with an 8.53 ERA. Was traded for Chris Taylor though, so there’s that.

2011
Chris Reed, pitcher
Was traded four years later to Miami for pitcher Grant Dayton. Reed pitched four innings for Miami and was released in 2018.

2012
Corey Seager, shortstop
Perhaps you’ve heard of him. World Series MVP in 2020, now with the Texas Rangers.

2013
Chris Anderson, pitcher
Was released four years later, signed by the Minnesota Twins and released by them. Never pitched in the majors.

2014
Grant Holmes, pitcher
Was part of the 2016 trade that brought Rich Hill to the Dodgers. Ended up with the Braves, made the majors in 2024 and is in Atlanta’s starting rotation.

2015 (Andrew Friedman’s first draft with the Dodgers)
Walker Buehler, pitcher
Perhaps you’ve heard of him too. Got the last out of the 2024 World Series. Now with the San Diego Padres.

2016
Gavin Lux, shortstop
Snakebit by injuries. Has been on the IL with Tampa Bay all season.

2017
Jeren Kendall, outfielder
Hit .209 in five minor league seasons before retiring.

2018
J.T. Ginn, pitcher
Did not sign and went to Mississippi State. Was selected by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2020 draft and signed. Currently pitches for the Athletics.

2019
Kody Hoese, third baseman
Spent six seasons in the minors, hitting .255/.323/.395 in 514 games. Became a minor league free agent after last season and remains unsigned.

2020
Bobby Miller, pitcher
Had a great 2023 season with the Dodgers but hasn’t pitched well since then. Currently on the 60-day injured list.

2021
Maddux Bruns, pitcher
On the IL for double-A Tulsa, where he had a 14.94 ERA in 15.2 innings. In six minor league seasons, he is 4-20 with a 5.71 ERA.

2022
Dalton Rushing, catcher
Much like this season, the Dodgers did not have a first-round pick in 2022, but had the 40th overall pick and drafted the player who has become their backup catcher.

2023
Kendall George, outfielder
Ranked as the No. 13 prospect for the Dodgers, he is hitting .342/.428/.409 at double-A Tulsa. He is only 21.

2024
Kellon Lindsey, shortstop
The No. 15 prospect for the Dodgers, Lindsey is 20 and hitt slashing .341/.421/.476 for class-A Ontario.

2025
Zach Root, pitcher
Also selected with the No. 40 pick, Root, 22, is 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 49.1 innings for class-A Great Lakes.

As you can see, it’s quite the crapshoot when you pick players in the draft, which is a main reason the MLB draft doesn’t draw the same attention as the NBA or NFL drafts.

All-Star news

Shohei Ohtani will not play in the All-Star Game as he deals with a troublesome knee. After Sunday’s loss to Arizona he was scheduled to have his left knee drained and likely will receive an injection. That sounds like a lot of fun. He is not expected to miss any time after the All-Star break.

In the good news department, Justin Wrobleski has been added to the All-Star roster. He is 10-2 with a 2.69 ERA and is a worthy addition.

All-Star numbers

By popular demand, a look at Dodgers All-Star game career leaders:

At-bats
Steve Garvey, 22 (9 for 22)
Roy Campanella, 20 (2 for 20)
Jackie Robinson, 18 (6 for 18)
Pee Wee Reese, 17 (2 for 17)
Maury Wills, 14 (5 for 14)

Hits
Steve Garvey, 9 (22 at-bats)
Jackie Robinson, 6 (18)
Maury Wills, 5 (14)
Mike Piazza, 4 (12)
Gil Hodges, 4 (12)
Billy Herman, 4 (9)

Runs
Jackie Robinson, 7
Steve Garvey, 6
Gil Hodges, 3
Duke Snider, 3

Doubles
Jackie Robinson, 2
Steve Garvey, 2
8 players tied with 1

Triples
Steve Garvey, 2
No other Dodger has tripled

Home runs
Steve Garvey, 2
Mike Piazza, 2
Jackie Robinson, 1
Gil Hodges, 1
Jim Wynn, 1
Shohei Ohtani, 1
Willie Davis, 1
John Roseboro, 1
Mickey Owen, 1
Jim Gilliam, 1

RBI’s
Steve Garvey, 6
Mike Piazza, 4
Jackie Robinson, 4
Shohei Ohtani, 3

Stolen bases
Steve Sax, 2
Maury Wills, 1
Will Smith, 1
Shawn Green, 1
Orlando Hudson, 1

Walks
Pee Wee Reese, 3
Roy Campanella, 3
Wally Moon, 3
Steve Garvey, 2
Jackie Robinson, 2
Ron Cey, 2
Augie Galan, 2
Duke Snider, 2

Strikeouts
Roy Campanella, 5
John Roseboro, 4
Pee Wee Reese, 3
Steve Garvey, 3
Cody Bellinger, 3
Yasiel Puig, 3

Batting average (Min. 6 at-bats)
Billy Herman, .444
Steve Garvey, .409
Maury Wills, ,357
Jackie Robinson, .333
Gil Hodges, .333
Mike Piazza, .333
Duke Snider, .300

Innings pitched
Don Drysdale, 19.1
Don Newcombe, 8.2
Don Sutton 8
Fernando Valenzuela, 7.2
Clayton Kershaw, 7.2
Sandy Koufax, 6
Claude Osteen, 5

ERA (minimum 5 IP)
Claude Osteen, 0.00
Don Sutton, 0.00
Fernando Valenzuela, 0.00
Don Drysdale, 1.40
Sandy Koufax, 1.50
Clayton Kershaw, 3.52
Don Newcombe, 4.15

Strikeouts
Don Drysdale, 19
Fernando Valenzuela, 9
Don Sutton, 7
Zack Greinke, 6
Clayton Kershaw, 6
Don Newcombe, 5

Saves
Don Drysdale, 1
Jonathan Broxton, 1
Jim Brewer, 1

Current Dodgers in the All-Star game
Numbers with Dodgers only

Shohei Ohtani, .400 batting average, 2 for 4, 1 homer, 3 RBIs
Mookie Betts, .333, 1 for 3, 1 RBI
Will Smith, .200, 1 for 5, 1 double, 1 steal
Freddie Freeman, .000, 0 for 4
Teoscar Hernández, .000, 0 for 2
Max Muncy, .000, 0 for 4

These names seem familiar

How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams (through Sunday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:

Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 97 ERA+, out for the season

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .254/.345/.421, 403 PA’s, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 11 homers, 51 RBIs, 114 OPS+

Walker Buehler, Padres: 5-5, 5.36 ERA, 89 IP, 93 hits, 35 walks, 81 K’s, 77 ERA+

Mike Busch, Cubs: .239/.368/.395, 424 PA’s, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, 49 RBIs, 115 OPS+

Michael Conforto, Cubs: .243/.331/.486, 160 PA’s, 10 doubles, 8 homers, 22 RBIs, 126 OPS+

Justin Dean, Cubs: .400/.500/.800, 6 PA’s, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 259 OPS+

Caleb Ferguson, Reds: 1-0, 2.41 ERA, 1 save, 18.2 IP, 19 hits, 7 walks, 17 K’s, 185 ERA+

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 3-8, 4.48 ERA, 82.1 IP, 76 hits, 40 walks, 98 K’s, 96 ERA+

Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 1-4, 4.56 ERA, 11 saves, 23.2 IP, 16 hits, 13 walks, 25 K’s, 95 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Rays: 0-2, 4.82 ERA, 28 IP, 26 hits, 11 walks, 26 K’s, 90 ERA+

Gavin Lux, Rays: on the IL

Dustin May, Cardinals: 5-6, 4.55 ERA, 93 IP, 89 hits, 28 walks, 89 K’s, 89 ERA+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .197/.278/.298, 248 PA’s, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 19 RBIs, 60 OPS+

James Outman, Tigers: .152/.221/.288, 136 PA’s, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 13 RBIs, 40 OPS+

Joc Pederson, Rangers: .235/.334/.462, 294 PA’s, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 15 homers, 34 RBIs, 130 OPS+

Luke Raley, Mariners: .229/.288/.453, 259 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 36 RBIs, 109 OPS+

Ben Rortvedt, Mets: in the minors

Corey Seager, Rangers: .182/.292/.374, 219 PA’s, 6 doubles, 10 homers, 25 RBIs, 94 OPS+, on the IL

Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .282/.394/.475, 216 PA’s, 17 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBIs

Trea Turner, Phillies: .236/.284/.355, 415 PA’s, 16 doubles, 10 homers, 33 RBIs, 71 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .245/.355/.493, 409 PA’s, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 21 homers, 59 RBIs, 135 OPS+

Kirby Yates, Angels: 0-4, 3.00 ERA, 3 saves, 21 IP, 14 hits, 7 walks, 28 K’s, 141 ERA+

In case you missed it

Shaikin: Love it or hate it: Would the Dodgers’ NL West rivals call a Tarik Skubal trade overkill?

How Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski went from demotion to All-Star in less than two years

Shaikin: Inside the Shohei Ohtani Economy driving a wild auction for his worn cleats

Dodgers’ top MLB draft pick Bo Lowrance eager to emulate Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager

Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski added to National League roster for All-Star Game

Kiké Hernández on why he’ll miss Dodgers’ White House visit

Shohei Ohtani scratched from pitching start, won’t play in MLB All-Star Game

Why 2026 MLB draft will be special for Dodgers coach Dino Ebel’s family

Plaschke: Are the Dodgers tone deaf? White House visit is an insult to their fans

Dodgers scheduled to visit White House in late July to celebrate 2025 World Series win

Dodgers’ collab with KAWS will put acclaimed artist’s unique ‘XX’ spin on jerseys, trading cards, more

And finally

Vin Scully discusses getting Babe Ruth‘s autograph. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

A day after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired, the Sparks were in Atlanta and seemingly still focused on trying to reach the playoffs this year.

The suggestion that Pebley’s removal was a sign that the team is performing poorly didn’t sit well with coach Lynne Roberts.

“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream. “For where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be, but we tripled our win total in my first year — that’s not underachieving. We haven’t hit our stride, we’ve been injured all year. Hopefully we get [Kelsey Plum] and Cam [Brink] back. Our system is designed around KP. I’m not close to thinking we are underachieving.”

Pebley and the rest of the Sparks’ organization signaled a clear intention to compete this season, signing veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler in the offseason, signing Dearica Hamby to a three-year deal and trading for Ariel Atkins.

The Sparks’ Rae Burrell protects the ball under pressure the Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud at Crypto.com Arena on July 10.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

They are still in the playoff race midway through the season, but have the second-worst defensive rating in the WNBA and sit a game below the postseason cutoff line.

They have competed without Plum, their top scorer, for 12 games and former No. 2 overall pick Brink during the past nine contests.

But even with their struggles, culminating in an 82-64 loss to Seattle on July 6, the Sparks responded well with consecutive home wins against Indiana and Chicago. After those games, Roberts seemed to think the team was moving in the right direction, but team owners made a major change.

The Sparks have a decision to make about how hard they want to push the rest of this season as the team flirts with missing the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. With the trade deadline on Aug. 2, they could make some moves to improve this season or sell off their veteran assets and attempt to rebuild again.

The Sparks haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and have made some controversial moves while trying to snap out of the slump.

In addition to the questionable trade of 2024 fourth overall pick Rickea Jackson to Chicago for veteran Atkins this offseason, Pebley traded the picks that would become Storm post duo Awa Fam and Dominique Malonga for Plum and Kia Nurse. In her sole season with the Sparks, Nurse averaged 7.6 points per game.

Pebley also traded the No. 8 pick in 2024 (that later was used to draft Alissa Pili) to Chicago for Julie Allemand and Li Yueru, then lost Allemand in the expansion draft. Yueru was sent to Seattle in the Plum trade and is now playing with Dallas. The Sparks’ 2025 first-round draft pick Sarah Ashlee Barker was left unprotected and went to Portland in the expansion draft.

The Sparks waived their top pick in this year’s draft, Ta’Niya Latson, after barely playing, and she has gone on to join Las Vegas. Sania Feagin, a 2025 first-round draft pick, was waived and signed with Portland.

Most of those moves, though, came after the Sparks lost the top spot in the 2025 draft lottery to Dallas, which selected Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick. Before the lottery result, it seemed like the Sparks — who went 8-32 in 2024 before that draft — were lining up for a youth movement led by Brink and Bueckers. A lineup of those three, a healthy Feagin, Barker and Allemand would be an entirely different kind of team.

Once that failed, they focused on adding veterans who could win now and have only managed modest improvement.

The Sparks have their next two first-round draft picks and four players still on rookie contracts after this season (Brink, Chance Gray, Kate Martin and Pili). Brink is their lone lottery pick left from their disappointing past six seasons. (Pili was a top-10 pick, but she has struggled to stay on a WNBA roster and just signed a player developmental contract with the Sparks this month.)

Pebley told The Times in an interview on Friday that she was open to making moves to compete at the deadline this year.

Players on the Sparks’ bench celebrate during a win over the Chicago Sky at Crypto.com Arena on July 10.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

“We are in a space where we are here to win,” she said. “This is a city that wants to win. We have an ownership that wants to win. You see what they’re doing with the Lakers. You see what they’ve done already with the Dodgers. … We have to always continue to invest in the roster. We have a responsibility to always listen and be aware of what’s out there.”

A league source not authorized to discuss trade conversations publicly told The Times that Pebley had been aggressive ahead of the deadline, and now teams are unsure what approach the Sparks will take moving forward.

“I found out when everybody else did,” Roberts said of Pebley’s firing. “It was a surprise. She’s a good friend of mine. I think the tone is set that we need to keep building and get the Sparks back to where they have been. That’s been the tone. Raegan did some great things for our org in that regard and improved a lot of things. That work can’t go undenied. It’s full-steam ahead and I’m focused on what I can do.”

It would be difficult to move some of their heftier contracts, especially since WNBA teams cannot take on more salary than their remaining cap space allows in a trade. Hamby, 32, is signed for two more years for more than $1 million per season. Atkins is also signed for two years at $1 million-plus and is having a career-worst offensive season, shooting 36.4% with 8.7 points per game.

Wheeler, 35, has another year left on her deal, but a $625,000 cap hit for a player who would be a backup point guard on most teams is a tough sell.

Plum and Ogwumike are on expiring deals, and the Sparks’ most valuable roster asset, Rae Burrell, is a restricted free agent, but one of the few young players left on the Sparks’ roster.

The Sparks have a limited $86,000 in cap space, too, so if they decide they want to buy at the deadline, they have to find a way to clear space.

They enter the trade deadline period in a difficult spot as a team in purgatory that just fired its general manager.

Yet what they decide to do in the next month might be the most clearest sign of their ambition and hope for the future.

The story of Dan Tana’s, in many ways, is the story of Los Angeles.

In 1980, Dan Tana’s burst into flames. At the time, the Tana family was vacationing on a remote Yugoslav island when a telegram arrived: “The restaurant burned down. Call me, Pearl,” recalls Katerina Tana, one of Dan Tana’s daughters.

Dan Tana flew back to Los Angeles, expecting charred remains. Instead, he found handwritten signs taped to the restaurant’s door: “Rebuild it. This is our home. Don’t change a thing,” recounts Katerina.

News of the fire reached musician Linda Ronstadt, who swore that Dan Tana’s served the best plate of spaghetti in the world. The rock star became the immigrant-run restaurant’s unlikely patron saint, calling on her relationship with then-Gov. Jerry Brown to help clear the way for its reopening. Just six weeks after the fire, Dan Tana’s welcomed customers again, even without a roof.

“They open up the restaurant with no roof on it. There’s no air conditioning unit. It was the hottest day,” says Katerina.

Oddly, the fire ushered in a new era for Dan Tana’s — a rebirth, even. Like Los Angeles, the restaurant endured by reinventing itself. “In a weird way, he rebuilt better than he ever could have, because if the restaurant hadn’t burned down, it might not have lasted this long,” Katerina says.

Stories like these fill the pages of “Everybody Came to Tana’s,” the late restaurateur’s memoir, which chronicles the outlandish journey that carried a young immigrant from communist then-Yugoslavia to the helm of one of Los Angeles’ most adored dining institutions. Dan Tana died last year at age 90, but his legacy lives on — inside the restaurant and now in his own words.

On a summer afternoon, his daughters, Gabrielle and Katerina, sit at the Sunset Marquis bar, recounting their father’s remarkable life — particularly his championing of soccer and his contributions to the sport. With the World Cup now unfolding across Los Angeles, the sisters say they can’t help but feel his presence. “One of his big wishes was to be here for this year’s World Cup. That’s why I know he’s here,” Gabrielle Tana says. “He was very instrumental in L.A. getting the World Cup. Our father was constantly helping connect people,” says Katerina.

In the final years of his life, Tana became determined to tell that story, working with writers in Serbia and eventually a ghostwriter, Todd Gold, who requested no credit; the resulting memoir feels wholly told in Tana’s voice. “Our father, for years, was talking about how he wanted to tell his story,” says Gabrielle. “He was always pinching himself about the life that he had — the stories, the adventures, and his luck.”

Tana had an unusual path to becoming the restaurant owner of the renowned Hollywood red-sauce hideout. Born in present-day Serbia, Tana’s early life was marked by political oppression under Communist rule. His father, a restaurateur, spent years as a political prisoner.

Gabrielle and Katerina Tana with their dad at Dan Tana’s, circa 2001.

(Suzette Van Bylevelt)

“When you live in a country where political powers are constantly in play, when you own a restaurant, you’re the person who’s hosting somebody who’s having a dangerous conversation,” explains Katerina. From an early age, Dan Tana’s mother made Dan promise not to end up in the restaurant business.

Instead, Dan Tana became a soccer star, touring Europe with Red Star Belgrade before eventually escaping to Belgium — a decision that would set him on the unbelievable path to Canada and then Los Angeles, where he would serve a stint managing a nightclub called Peppermint West and even launch a modest acting career with the help of Natalie Wood.

The chapters follow the restaurant’s improbable success, offering extraordinary anecdotes, such as how a Yugoslavian immigrant happened to open a red-booth, comfort-food Italian restaurant. The answer? Hiring Mussolini’s private chef. “It was one of two chef options that he was given by his partners: Dan Reeves and Clarence Dan Martin, who funded the soccer league. [Dan Reeves] also bought the restaurant,” says Katerina.

Beyond dispatches from his red-and-white-checkered tablecloth joint and name-dropping, Dan Tana’s memoir outlines his significant contributions to soccer. Throughout his life, he maintained deep ties to the international soccer community, supporting Red Star Belgrade long after he retired from the sport. “He became an evangelist for the game because he thought it was a game that this country would appreciate,” says Katerina. “Football was always the biggest love of his life.”

Craig Susser, left in black, has been greeting patrons at Dan Tana’s for decades.

(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Last November, when England faced off with Serbia for the World Cup qualifying games, the stadium held a moment of silence for Dan Tana’s passing. “There were people within the game who really wanted to acknowledge his contribution to the game,” says Katerina.

“A good restaurant has a good bar, and a good bar has ghosts,” reads the introduction. For Dan Tana’s, as far as ghosts go, they comprise a who’s who of Hollywood royalty. Johnny Carson once called it his favorite restaurant. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe and other A-list stars were known to haunt the bar.

Even with its reputation as a watering hole for Hollywood’s biggest names, Dan Tana refused to pander to celebrities. “Everybody was treated the same. He never wanted the restaurant to be full of celebrities. He wanted to make sure that there were doctors, lawyers and teachers,” Gabrielle says. “He was almost a democratic socialist in that way.”

A revealing anecdote from the early pages of the book: Tana turned away Barbara Sinatra’s offer to buy out the restaurant for a night for Frank Sinatra’s birthday at $25,000. Tana refused. It wouldn’t be fair to his regulars. Frank Sinatra never set foot in the restaurant again.

Sonja Perencevic and Dan Tana attend the restaurant’s 50th anniversary party in Los Angeles in 2014.

(Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

In many ways, Tana was one of Hollywood’s quiet power brokers, earning influence through humility and respect rather than status. In 1972, mysterious mafia members came into the restaurant to ask Tana to procure early-screening tickets for “The Godfather.” Naturally, Tana obliged. The mafia returned to report they loved the now-classic film.

The proximity to the Troubadour also made the restaurant a hangout for up-and-coming names in rock music. “He fed so many of those musicians. He wouldn’t charge them. These were kids that had nothing,” says Gabrielle. She recounts a night when musicians from the Troubadour celebrated the end of the Vietnam War at Dan Tana’s; the event went undocumented, lost to history.

Rock stars aside, the place is a writer’s joint too. Eve Babitz — who was a close friend of 93-year-old Deanne Mencher, who still makes the cheesecakes at Dan Tana’s — was known for socializing at the restaurant. “If you got hungry, you had to walk over to Dan Tana’s. Tana’s was delicious and evil — all that garlic,” Babitz once wrote in her semi-autobiographical novel, “L.A. Woman.” Screenwriters, journalists and famed L.A. writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne were also known to frequent the restaurant.

In fact, Gabrielle and Katerina attribute the restaurant’s early colossal success to a Los Angeles Times review. It was 1966, and the restaurant was struggling. Art Ryon, a columnist at The Times, happened to stop at the restaurant before a screening at the Writers Guild of America and ordered mushrooms. “The L.A. Times made the restaurant,” Katerina says. “The next day there’s a line around the block, and my father has no idea what happened.” Tana was informed that he received a rave five-star review in The Times. Success soon followed.

Chicken Parmesan from Dan Tana’s.

(Jakob Layman)

The next generation of Hollywood — including comedy stars like Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Chris Rock — has continued the tradition. “SNL” cast member James Austin Johnson expresses his fondness for the restaurant. He discovered the restaurant after hearing Ed Begley Jr. rhapsodize about it. “The first intrigue is finding out who Dan Tana is,” says Johnson. “It has a West Hollywood mystique, like Chateau Marmont — like when Hollywood, the place and the business were all the same.”

Johnson loves restaurants that feel preserved in time. “It’s the idea that you can build something right the first time and then preserve it, so that people can be a part of your good idea when it happens,” says Austin Johnson.

Gabrielle and Katerina credit the enduring appeal of Dan Tana’s to its persistent lack of pretentiousness. The atmosphere evokes a Sinatra-era simplicity. “I think celebrities felt safe. They weren’t photographed, and they would be left alone,” says Gabrielle. The restaurant has kept its dim pink lights, which Gabrielle notes, “made everybody look good.”

The food has also remained consistent, with large portions and comfort food. “It’s not fancy, but it’s the best chicken Parmesan,” says Gabrielle. Over the decades, Dan Tana was approached about expanding the restaurant and opening second locations. He always refused, the restaurant’s humility always mirroring the man behind it. The restaurant, which felt like an anomaly, could not be replicated. “He always said: if I knew what I did right, I would do it again,” says Katerina.

Dan Tana’s originality continues to capture the city’s attention, its legacy now preserved in a memoir and carried on by its new owners, Mihajlo and Sonja Perenčević, who were friends of Dan Tana. Within its pages, the reader becomes one of Dan Tana’s beloved ghosts. “In a town that’s always trying to be something that’s not, it’s not trying to be anything,” says Katerina. “Dan Tana’s is longevity in the midst of ephemera.”

Connors is a culture journalist in L.A. She covers books, food, entertainment and offbeat Los Angeles. She’s currently at work on a book of essays about tourism in all its forms.

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Angel Reese had 23 points and 13 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 16th double-double of the season, Allisha Gray added 20 points, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 101-92 on Monday night.

Gray made Atlanta’s first field goal of the fourth quarter with 4:07 remaining to tie it at 87. Then, Reese got a friendly roll on her third made three-pointer of the season to make it 90-87 and she added two free throws on the next possession for a five-point lead. Jordin Canada capped the 9-0 run for a 94-87 lead.

Canada finished with 16 points and Rhyne Howard added 11 for Atlanta (14-10), which had lost six of its last seven games. Reese, who missed Saturday’s game against Portland, was seven for 11 from the field and made all eight of her free throws in 32 minutes.

Erica Wheeler scored 20 points, Nneka Ogwumike added 19 and Rae Burrell had 18 for the Sparks (10-12). Cameron Brink (left ankle) missed her eighth straight game and Kelsey Plum (lower left leg) missed her sixth straight.

Up next for Sparks: at Minnesota on Wednesday.

LAS VEGAS — The Lakers signed free-agent forward Ziaire Williams to a one-year, $3-million deal on Monday, people not authorized to speak on the matter publicly confirmed to The Times.

Williams, 24, was available after the Brooklyn Nets declined his team option of $6.25 million, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The 6-foot-9 Williams gives the Lakers an athletic wing player. He averaged a career-high 10.2 points last season in 56 games, 13 as a starter.

He shot 42.5% from the field and 34.3% from three-point range.

NBA scouts who requested anonymity to speak candidly on the matter said Williams is athletic but hasn’t figure out his game yet. He’s seen as an inconsistent three-point shooter.

Williams, who attended Sierra Canyon High with Bronny James and Stanford, gives the Lakers a maximum 15 roster players.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals are set to start, with France taking on Spain and defending champion Argentina facing England.

World Cup co-hosts U.S., Canada and Mexico will be watching from the sideline after being eliminated in the round of 16.

Here’s everything you need to know about the two World Cup matches being played Tuesday and Wednesday (all times Pacific).

Tuesday’s semifinal

France vs. Spain

France star Kylian Mbappe controls the ball during a World Cup quarterfinal win over Morocco on July 9.

(Lars Baron / Getty Images)

Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock

The buzz: This game would be far better suited as a final than a semifinal. Both are unbeaten — in fact, Spain is unbeaten in its last 36 games, one shy of the all-time record. For France, a win would put it in the final for a third straight World Cup while Spain is hoping to get back for the first time since 2010, when it won its only title. The teams got here in different ways. Spain has walked a razor’s edge, giving up just a single goal in the tournament and winning its last two games on late goals from substitute Mikel Merino. France has bludgeoned the opposition, scoring 16 goals while conceding just two. Kylian Mbappé has scored eight times and has 20 goals in 20 World Cup games, leaving him one back of Lionel Messi’s all-time record. It seems unjust that one of these teams will finish its World Cup in the third-place game.

Wednesday’s semifinal

England vs. Argentina

England’s (from left to right) Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Morgan Rogers celebrate after defeating Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock

The buzz: Both teams are unbeaten and each survived scares in the quarterfinals, with England outlasting Norway in extra time in brutal weather in Miami and Argentina beating Switzerland in extra time in Kansas City. Jude Bellingham had a brace in each of England’s last two games to match teammate Harry Kane’s six goals in the tournament. Bellingham is the first player to score at least two goals in consecutive World Cup knockout matches since Diego Maradona in 1986. Argentina, the reigning champion, is unbeaten in its last 12 World Cup games, but four of its last six knockout-stage games have gone to extra time or penalties. Argentina has gotten eight goals and two assists from Messi in this World Cup.

Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski, caught in limbo for the last week, didn’t make any plans for the All-Star break.

Good thing because on Saturday morning, manager Dave Roberts called to tell him he was added to the National League All-Star Game roster as a replacement player.

“I was actually playing nine holes this morning, just a normal day,” Wrobleski said. “And Doc called me, and [I] actually missed the first call.”

But when Wrobleski called back later, he thanked Roberts for how much the manager lobbied for him to be an All-Star. Then the left-hander called his mom and picked up a call from his dad.

“Everybody’s excited,” Wrobleski said. “I’m excited too. So everybody had good reactions. The team was excited for me. Had a bunch of friends reach out, a bunch of family reach out. Just great.”

A week after being snubbed from the initial All-Star rosters, Wrobleski will replace Reds right-hander Chase Burns.

“I was not happy that I wasn’t going to be a part of it,” Wrobleski said. “And obviously, getting the news that I’m going to be able to go there and do it, it’s super exciting. Wide range of emotions.”

Wrobleski is the sixth Dodger to be named a 2026 All-Star, joining Shohei Ohtani (who won’t be attending), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (also not playing), Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Andy Pages.

This is Wrobleski’s first All-Star selection, in his first full season in the Dodgers rotation. His 2.69 ERA ranked No. 8 among qualified NL pitchers entering Saturday. And his 10 wins was tied for No. 2.

“I was elated,” Roberts said. “The game honors you and today the game honored Justin.”

Wrobleski began the season in the bullpen, waiting to join the rotation as its sixth pitcher after the first turn. He and Yamamoto have carried the brunt of the workload for the Dodgers’ rotation over the first half of the season, consistently pitching deep into games.

“I haven’t really had the chance to think about everything yet,” Wrobleski said about his season. “But I’m sure this offseason or whenever, it’s going to hit me.

“It’s super cool. I’m super excited. I’m super lucky and blessed to just have the chance that I’ve gotten this year. And thankfully I’ve thrown the ball well.”

Yamamoto not pitching in All-Star Game

With Yamamoto making his last start before the All-Star break on Saturday, it seemed unlikely he would pitch in the All-Star Game. Roberts made that official on Saturday.

“He’ll get a week off,” Roberts said, noting that he believes the two-time All-Star still plans to travel to Philadelphia for the event.

Díaz on rehab assignment

In a promising sign for Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he is scheduled to make a rehab assignment with single-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.

Blake Snell, who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, progressed to throwing live batting practice on Saturday.

Roster moves

The Dodgers made a series of moves to add a fresh arm to the bullpen before Saturday’s game.

They reinstated pitcher Landon Knack from the injured list (strained oblique). In a pair of corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Kyle Hurt to triple-A Oklahoma City and designated pitcher Charlie Barnes for assignment.

MLB draft

With their first pick of the MLB draft, No. 40 overall, the Dodgers selected infielder Bo Lowrance out of Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, S.C.

“We are ecstatic about landing Bo Lowrance,” Dodgers’ amateur scouting director Zach Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “He was our main target. Bo has the size, the swing, the projection and the drive to be a high-level Major League shortstop.”

The Dodgers only had two picks Saturday. They selected right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer out of the University of Florida with the 132nd pick.

The draft continues Sunday with rounds five through 20.

MINNEAPOLIS — Trevor Larnach homered and drove in two runs, Ryan Jeffers added a two-run double, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Angels 4-2 on Sunday and head into the All-Star break with eight wins in their last nine games.

Larnach’s single in the third inning scored Luke Keaschall, tying the score at 1. Jeffers followed with a double that knocked in Ryan Kreidler and Larnach for a 3-1 lead.

Larnach added a 405-foot homer to right in the eighth inning, his seventh of the season, as the Twins (48-49) won their fifth straight series.

Minnesota starter Taj Bradley (9-3) worked seven innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. Andrew Morris struck out two over the last two innings and earned his third save.

Josh Lowe and Denzer Guzman hit solo home runs for the Angels (38-59), who dropped their fourth straight series. Lowe’s eighth of the season came in the second inning, and Guzman added his fourth in the seventh inning.

José Soriano (8-6) gave up five hits, three earned runs and two walks in five innings.

Up next for Angels: Host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series starting Friday.

LAS VEGAS — The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.

He did so in a big way.

Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.

He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.

With Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr unable to play because of a right thumb contusion, Kaluma took over the scoring role. Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.

“Cam doesn’t play tonight, so he gets a little bit more minutes, gets a couple more touches,” said Lakers Summer League coach Ty Abbott about Kaluma. “But he’s done a really good job of making the most of it when he doesn’t have actions run for him. So the way that he’s been able to stay ready, find windows for himself has kept him in a rhythm. So, on a night like tonight, when we can run some actions for him, he knocks them down and just plays out of his mind. It was great.”

Kaluma said he was “a little nervous” but his three-point shooting said otherwise.

“When [teammate] Jon Elmore came down and he pitched it back to me for a three … I just knew when it came off my hand it was cash,” Kaluma said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m hot.’ It went on from there.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.

“We have such a great group of guys this year at Summer League and going through this it’s hard to get that camaraderie with a group,” Kaluma said. “But I feel like everybody wants to see everybody succeed and I felt that tonight. I’m not going to lie to you. They tell me to shoot the ball. I passed up a couple of shots and they were mad at me the other day.”

Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.

“The G can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”

Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.

Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.

But the night belonged to Kaluma.

“I pride myself on the defensive end,” he said. “I know I got hot offensively, but the shot was just falling today, you know what I’m saying? My game is three-and-D. I lock-up on defense and I know I can hit open shots. I just got hot today and I’m not going to try to let it get to my head.”

It was never actually in doubt. Dearica Hamby was going to stay a member of the Sparks. That was just how she worked.

Even when Nneka Ogwumike came into the fold and the frontcourt became crowded, Hamby didn’t doubt her decision to return to the organization that traded for her four years ago.

Loyalty mattered more than anything else.

“That’s who I am,” she said. “I don’t run away from things. I wanted to stay here and help L.A. get back to where it was and is capable of being.”

In a loaded frontcourt, the 32-year-old Hamby has still found ways to shine. Hamby has led the Sparks in scoring four times and led or tied for rebounding 16 times this season after signing a three-year, $3.5-million contract.

She ranks in the top 20 in the league in rebounds and field-goal percentage (plus 25th in scoring) and is eighth in offensive rebounds in establishing herself as an essential piece to the Sparks’ “win now” attempt.

“I think it’s the challenge, because we are so good and we have so much talent,” said Hamby, who is averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 52.8% from the field. “You’re forced to produce, but it’s also a blessing. I know it’s probably hard for coach to manage the three’s playing time and stuff like that, but it’s a beautiful problem.”

Hamby was in the headlines when the Aces traded her after she was pregnant. In September of that year, she filed a federal discrimination complaint against the team and league, claiming she was traded because she was pregnant. The two sides resolved matters before trial.

The new CBA this year created a new rule that requires a pregnant player’s consent to be traded.

“I feel like she’s such an anomaly,” said forward Rae Burrell. “I remember when she had her son, and it was crazy because everybody was saying she was coming back so early, I thought that was insane, but now being her teammate, I see it, she’s just kind of a freak of nature, like she’s so athletic, she can do all types of things on the court that you think looks unorthodox, but she makes it happen, but also just love being her teammate. She’s just good people.”

Since that trade, she has been a regular in the Sparks’ starting lineup while averaging double-digit scoring and around eight rebounds per game. She’s one of the most efficient scorers in the league, too.

But Hamby’s games have been all over the board. Against the Aces, she missed all seven of her shots. Against Dallas and Indiana, she made six of eight shots. She’s had eight games with a shooting percentage above 60% and four games under 40%.

Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, left, tries to steal the ball from Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner during a game in Phoenix.

(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Having the three frontcourt players has been an adjustment for coach Lynne Roberts to find how to implement them all in the offense.

“I’m trying to implement the new offense, we’re plugging pieces into play, and things that I may have been able to do last year as freely I’m not as able to do this year,” Hamby said. “So just adjusting for sure, but I think that’s across the board for everybody.”

Before the season, Roberts said that Cameron Brink would come off the bench and Hamby would start. Brink, the only natural center on the team, averages just 17.5 minutes per game primarily because of her 3.7 fouls.

“She’s my vet,” Brink said of Hamby. “I think she’s just such a grounding force for us, and she’s someone that does everything, so I just really feel like I learn from her every day, and I’m just very thankful to be in her presence.”

Hamby averages 3.2 fouls per game and has expressed frustration about the new officiating norms this season, but has avoided true foul trouble. She and Ogwumike work as two fours instead of a team with a traditional five.

“She has a lot of energy,” Ogwumike said. “I think she does a really good job of just having a high motor and going out there and kind of like doing the dirty work. I feel like it’s beneficial to have a loaded frontcourt, to be able to have so many different types of players and a depth where anytime one of us is in, there’s no letdown.”

The Sparks have been the worst defensive team in the league this season and struggled to score when point guard Kelsey Plum was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. Ogwumike might be the other veteran leader, but Hamby has stayed with this Sparks team the past two seasons while Ogwumike was in Seattle.

Now her role has changed, even with that loyalty. She’s playing just over a minute less and they’re asking for better defense and efficiency.

Hamby chose to come back. Now she’s choosing to help build the Sparks up.

“I know my usage is a lot lower,” Hamby said. “A goal of mine the last two seasons was to have those numbers, so to have the same numbers just at a more efficient rate, and so I mean offensively, but with like two fewer shots a game, that’s pretty impressive.”

Croatia’s World Cup was seconds away from being over and Portugal was seconds away from the round of 16 when Ivan Perisic sent a long, desperate cross into the penalty area. The ball bounced off bodies like a pinball before magically, unbelievably, caroming into the net.

Gooooooallllllll!!!!

Fate had given Croatia a reprieve.

But as pandemonium broke out in the stands and on the pitch, Norwegian referee Espen Eskas stood in the middle of the celebration in Toronto, hand to his ear, listening to a voice half a continent away in Dallas.

The voice recommended a review, via the video assistant referee, or VAR.

So Eskas trotted over to a TV monitor, watched a video replay over and over again, and more than 2½ minutes after the goal was recorded, he took it off the board. Perisic’s cross had brushed the hair of teammate Igor Matanovic, leaving Mario Pasalic in an offside position when the ball reached him near the far post. The contact was imperceptible to the naked eye, but a space-age sensor in the ball had confirmed it.

A VAR review led a referee to overturn a Croatia goal during its 2-1 World Cup loss to Portugal in Toronto, eliminating Croatia from the tournament.

(Dan Mullan / Getty Images)

Croatia’s World Cup was over, another victim of VAR, which has had an outsized influence on this summer’s tournament.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. When VAR was introduced to soccer nine years ago, its mission was clear: to alert the head referee to potential clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents. At least that’s what Major League Soccer, one of the first leagues to use the system, wrote in the news release introducing it.

“It was really to stop the headlines,” said Mark Geiger, who helped implement VAR as an MLS referee. “These super-egregious errors in a game that impact the outcome. The mantra for VAR was always minimum interference but maximum benefit.”

Under the VAR system, officials sitting before a bank of monitors in a centralized control room review match footage in real time and advise the on-field referee of potential errors. If the video assistant referees believe a mistake has been made, they communicate that through an earpiece the match referee is wearing. If the match official agrees, they will stop play, signal a review by motioning their hands in the shape of a rectangular TV screen, then watch the play themselves on a pitch-side monitor before either confirming or reversing the original decision.

It is comparable to the Automated Ball-Strike review added this year in Major League Baseball, tennis’ Hawk-Eye line-calling system and long-standing centralized instant replay review in the National Football League and National Basketball Assn., systems that have both corrected errors and stoked debate.

But VAR has morphed into something far greater. In this World Cup, there have been more than 100 VAR interventions, encompassing both confirmed on-field calls and overturned decisions, through the end of the round of 16, according to Antonio Vuksanovic, a publication relations and communications professional at Sofascore, a Croatian technology company and sports statistics website.

“When it comes to actual overturned decisions, we’re looking at roughly 0.5 per match, which is higher than the last World Cup and higher than what we saw across the most recently completed club season,” Vuksanovic said.

Even though the officials have gotten most of those calls right, many of the infractions reviewed have been so imperceptible yet so consequential, it has raised a question: if human error on the part of players and coaches is part of the sport, is allowing a game to be decided by electronic evidence of a touch detectable only through NASA-level technology violating the spirit of the game?

Iran’s Shoja Khalilzadeh shoots past Egypt’s Mostafa Shobeir, but the goal was overturned after VAR review during a World Cup match in Seattle on June 26.

(Maddy Grassy / Associated Press)

Christina Unkel, a former FIFA referee, state referee administrator in Florida and a rules of the game analyst for multiple TV networks, believes it does.

“Football is an art. And that’s why we love it,” she said. “It truly isn’t the referee’s fault. We’re not the ones seeking more advanced technology. We don’t want to look like robots out there. But the stakeholders are like ‘more, more, more.’

“When you do pursue black and white — objectivity is what they’re trying to get to, and I get it; they want to eliminate as much subjectivity as possible — what everyone is hating is this perfection thing.”

FIFA, the major stakeholder in the World Cup, declined multiple requests to answer questions about the officiating, but it has clearly doubled down on the technology for this tournament, introducing the semi-automated offside system which uses player-tracking cameras, computer-generated offside lines and, in some cases, data from a measuring instrument inside the match ball, to identify everyone’s position on the pitch when the ball is played.

“The whole genesis of VAR was not to fix every mistake or to make the referees perfect,” said Geiger, the first American to officiate a World Cup knockout game and now general manager of the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), which oversees referees for MLS and the NWSL. “Is the referee correct? That’s not the right question. They should be asking themselves, ‘is the referee clearly and obviously wrong?’”

Geiger, however, remains a huge proponent of the system and was careful not to criticize how it’s been used in this World Cup.

Belgium’s Youri Tielemans on a penalty kick that sails by Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw during a World Cup round of 32 match in Seattle on July 1. The game-deciding penalty kick was awarded after VAR review.

(Manu Fernandez / Associated Press)

Still, the frequent use of VAR and other technologies has clearly robbed the World Cup of much as its drama, with spontaneous celebrations of game-winning goals turning to grief moments later when the referee steps away from the monitor and takes away a score.

Reviews not only ended Croatia’s tournament, but they showed Shoja Khalilzadeh was a toe offside when he scored the goal that would have sent Iran to the knockout stages, one of three goals Iran had disallowed by VAR in the tournament; it gave Belgium a late penalty, based on light contact, that Youri Tielemans converted to end Senegal’s World Cup; and it cost Egypt a goal for a perceived foul that took place nearly 100 yards away from the ball in its 3-2 loss to Argentina.

“What happened to us wasn’t fair,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.

Unkel agreed with that sentiment too.

“Everyone hates it,” she said. “According to VAR, that’s correct to take that goal away. That’s not the spirit of the game. But it’s the correct decision by law.”

What Unkel would prefer — and she believes a majority of officials are on her side — is for referees to have discretion to ignore or even overrule VAR if common sense and their understanding of the game suggest they should, just as judges have discretion to use common sense in applying the law.

“A lot of our game, the majority of it, is very subjective,” she said. “When we’re all sitting there saying, ‘No, that doesn’t gain an unfair advantage,’ then that’s when we have to start reconsidering things back to the spirit of the law. That’s the catchall loophole for saying, ‘Do we want this to be part of our game?’

“And I think everyone’s universally saying there a lot of different kinds of decisions we do not want part of our game. Toenail offsides, hair follicle arguments.”

Without the use of video replays, its unlikely any of those calls would have been made and the World Cup quarterfinals would probably look quite different.

England players react as referee Alireza Faghani shows a red card to England’s Jarell Quansah during a World Cup match against Mexico on July 5.

(Natacha Pisarenko / Ap Photo/natacha Pisarenko)

England coach Thomas Tuchel, upset about a penalty call on captain Harry Kane and a red card given to defender Jarell Quansah, both following video reviews in his team’s round-of-16 win over Mexico, said rulings were being overturned in the tournament “in a very questionable way.”

“The referees can send any team out in any moment,” he added. “It’s just not good enough. It’s just erratic. It’s just unreliable.”

An apparent misuse of the technology also led to the most controversial incident in the tournament. In the second half of an elimination game between the U.S. and Bosnia-Herzegovina, American Folarin Balogun stomped on the ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic, something Brazilian referee Raphael Claus initially decided did not merit even a caution. But after VAR official Juan Soto of Venezuela urged him to watch a replay, Claus flashed a red card at Balogun, expelling him from the game and banning him from the next match in the round of 16.

Claus had watched the replay in slow motion, allowing him to see what wasn’t apparent at game speed. FIFA later intervened by lifting Balogun’s one-game suspension, igniting ever greater controversy because it was just the second time that has happened in a World Cup.

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun steps on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s foot and received a red card after VAR review during the World Cup.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The heavy use of VAR has also interrupted the flow of games by halting matches that weren’t meant to be halted, leaving everyone standing on the field while the referee goes off to watch TV, sometimes for minutes at a time.

“When calls are reviewed and when goals are reviewed, sometimes it could take away from the momentum,” U.S. defender Chris Richards said. “Look under anything with a microscope, you could probably find something. But ultimately it was meant to be helpful for the game.”

And it has been. Because if officials have become over-reliant on VAR to review decisions that were not, or could not, be seen in real time, at least they’re getting those decisions right.

“I wish we had it in the 2002 World Cup,” said Bruce Arena, who coached the U.S. in that tournament. “We might have made it to the semifinals.”

In the quarterfinals of that tournament, with Germany leading 1-0 in the 40th minute, an obvious handball by Germany’s Torsten Frings kept out a shot from American Gregg Berhalter. If VAR had been available, Scottish referee Hugh Dallas could have corrected the missed call, awarding a penalty and giving Frings a red card, expelling him for the final 40 minutes.

“Look at every sport now in the world,” said Arena, coach of the San José Earthquakes. “They have some version of VAR. Why not make decisions correct?”

“There are still plenty of opportunities for the referees to control the game and make mistakes and not make mistakes,” he continued in reference to the human element. “It’s not like every moment is evaluated. But key moments are.”

As for interrupting the flow of play, Arena says the three-minute hydration breaks FIFA has introduced each half — ostensibly for player welfare, but in practice to give the TV networks additional commercial breaks — have been more disruptive.

“You don’t want VAR to officiate the game completely,” Arena said. “You have to pick your spots. For the most part, I think VAR is good.”

The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn’t enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season’s first half.

The Dodgers (61-35) put little pressure on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. And Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrapped up his first-half campaign with his highest-scoring start of the season; he surrendered six runs in six innings.

Over the All-Star break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game Saturday, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive year, will not pitch in the game.

The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the Midsummer Classic, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the All-Star break and will not travel to Philadelphia. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.

Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. It started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.

The Dodgers finally rallied for two runs in the sixth and then fell quiet again. The Diamondbacks then scored three runs against Landon Knack in his three-inning season debut coming off the injured list.

Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two that lasted eight innings or more. He leads the team with 110⅔ innings pitched.

“His delivery is so consistent, repeatable,” Roberts said before the game. “He uses his body so efficiently. I just see how he takes care of himself, and the tax wasn’t going to be a problem for him.”

Yamamoto’s workload, along with Wrobleski’s emergence, have helped the Dodgers weather injuries to pitchers who were expected to be major contributors.

In a promising sign for closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he started a rehab assignment with single-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.

“He’s been throwing pretty effortlessly, free, maybe a week after he started throwing,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.

He estimated that Díaz would return in about three to four weeks if his progression goes smoothly.

Blake Snell — who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on May 19 — threw two simulated innings to batters Saturday.

Snell is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next weekend, Roberts said. Prior believes Snell will need at least four to five outings, likening it to a spring training buildup.

“The goal would be to get him fully built up to 90ish pitches before he comes back,” Prior said.

Tyler Glasnow, who had been sidelined for more than two months with a lingering back injury, threw a bullpen session Friday.

“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ‘pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Prior said. “But it’s a good sign.”

Glasnow has had plenty of back and forth in his rehab, however. Twice he started playing catch only to be shut down when back spasms returned.

“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”

Glasnow is scheduled for another bullpen session on Monday.

Bo Lowrance models his game after Freddie Freeman. So, it’s fitting that the Dodgers selected the 6-foot-5, 200-pound high school infielder — ranked the No. 21 overall prospect by MLB.com — with the 40th pick in the MLB amateur draft on Saturday.

“He’s obviously a first baseman, and I’m on the left side, so defensively a little different,” Lowrance said of Freeman during a conference call with media. “But he’s still unbelievably athletic, and a big thing that I’ve watched for years is his approach and how he uses the whole field. … [Freeman is] somebody that I’m always trying to emulate.”

Lowrance hit .435 with 12 home runs last season at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, S.C.

A left-handed batter and right-handed thrower like Freeman, Lowrance is expected to develop as a shortstop — noting former Dodger Corey Seager has a “super smooth” defense at 6-4 he hopes to replicate — with a potential role at third, depending on how the prep star grows into his frame.

“Yeah, definitely want to be a shortstop,” Lowrance said. “I believe I’m capable of it. I think I have the glove skills and the athleticism. I think it’s just going to turn into who I want to become at the plate in terms of my overall size and frame. Like, if I ultimately put on a bunch of weight and kind of grow out of the shortstop position, then maybe that’s where that’ll change.”

Lowrance hit it off with the Dodgers’ front office in June at the draft combine in Phoenix.

And even though the Dodgers didn’t exactly see the Freeman comparison Lowrance mentioned, they would be thrilled if he turned out anything like the 10-time All-Star.

“Bo was definitely our main target coming into the day,” Dodgers amateur scouting director Zach Fitzpatrick said. “Probably would have said there’s a pretty low chance we were able to acquire him, had you asked me in the morning. So as the picks start coming off the board and realizing there’s a little bit more opportunity to get him, our excitement level climbed. And then to actually be able to call his name was a home run for us.”

“I’ve been in communication with them for a while,” Lowrance added. “I’ve loved their scouting staff. I have a great relationship with them.”

The Dodgers entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at $3,951,900; the White Sox had the most cash to work with, boasting $20,489,500.

Fitzpatrick, though, said the Dodgers’ strategy centered around taking the best player available.

The approach carried over into the Dodgers’ second and final pick on the day — Florida right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer at No. 132.

Sandefer posted a 3-2 record as a junior in 2026 with a 4.42 ERA over 19 games and 12 starts. The Dodgers were intrigued by his repertoire and heat.

“As we dove into Russell throughout the spring, kind of all departments — from scouting and what we saw at the park to our player development group and our analytics group — kind of flagged Russell as very intriguing and then having a lot of upside left,” Fitzpatrick said.

“A starter at Florida, threw a lot of strikes; there’s obviously velocity, there’s a deep mix, and he performed and had some pretty stellar outings along the way that helped us believe in his upside and different ways we can help him access it more consistently.”

Lowrance was happy to be part of the Dodgers’ draft class.

“Just a whole wave of emotions,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful, first off, and couldn’t be more excited. I mean, yeah, I’ve said it already: It’s the best team in baseball, and nobody else that I want to be a part of.

“Couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”

I am a lifetime resident of Los Angeles and my family has always rooted for the Dodgers. Last year we gave them a pass when they went to visit Trump at the White House. This year after Trump’s attack on our community we cannot accept the Dodgers visiting Trump again. Dave Roberts should know that the first obligation of a patriot is to stand up against tyranny. Shame on him and any other Dodger who goes to the White House this year. I will be canceling my Spectrum service. I’m not playing with the future of our democracy.

Felipe Caceres
Los Angeles

If the Dodgers kowtow to Donald Trump yet again, Angelenos should consider boycotting the team for the rest of the season. Yes, they are an exceptional team and might return to the World Series yet again. However, other great athletes, such as the recent U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team, have displayed their courage and integrity in refusing to bow down to that dangerous tyrant.

By serving, as too many others continue to do, to support and enable the thug, they are enabling him in his inhumane and destructive policies and actions. As well, Trump invaded L.A., and the Dodgers did little to support the city they allegedly represent. If they return, it is more than a slap in the face of every sane and thoughtful Angeleno.

Barry Cutler
Palm Desert

I have always paid for the Dodgers’ games on mlb.tv, but this year when the Dodgers did not decline the White House visit, I did not. I was holding out hope they wouldn’t squeeze a visit in on their road trip after the All-Star Game and I’d get half a season. Instead I’m listening to the games on the radio. I’ve heard the players say things like “you never know when this might happen again” or “it’s tradition.” I don’t get either one of those excuses. Is Mookie Betts going to ask Trump why he posted the picture of the Obamas as monkeys? Or any of the players going to stand up for anything?

How about be like the women’s Olympic hockey team and stand up for what is right? Don’t be a pawn for another photo op for this dysfunctional White House. Please?

Marnie Jernagan
Fresno

Columnist Bill Plaschke wants to impose his political views on us and the Dodgers. Let each player decide if he wants to go to the White House, and if some players don’t want to go, then fine — don’t go. But why should all the players be confined to Plaschke’s view of politics?

David Waldowski
Laguna Woods

I was a huge Dodgers fan until last year when they visited the White House. What a happy crowd they looked, even presenting President Trump with his own jersey, No. 47. That wasn’t enough? They’re off again, with Dave Roberts talking about “respecting the highest office in the land, it doesn’t matter who’s in office” while Clayton Kershaw, who presented the jersey is so “excited to go” again. Roberts had previously talked about it being a tradition. Nothing about this White House or this president is traditional, and not going is not making a “political” stand. It would be a stand for decency and normalcy. While visiting the East Wing maybe they can present Trump with the inaugural Baseball Peace Prize. Shame on the Dodgers!

Jane Peters
Los Angeles

LAS VEGAS — The highlight dunk was proof that Adou Thiero is just fine. Thiero delivered a breakaway windmill dunk in the second quarter Friday that brought cheers from the fans, a moment in which the second-year Lakers forward displayed his athleticism.

Thiero’s confidence seemed to grow from that point on, his play for the Lakers during their Las Vegas Summer League opener at the Thomas & Mack Center a sign of his development.

He ran the floor and caught a lob for a dunk. He sprinted back on defense and blocked a shot. He finished the third quarter with a last-second shot off the backboard, a basket that gave the Lakers an 86-66 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thiero came back in the game in the fourth quarter and threw down another lob dunk.

Thiero completed his night with 20 points during the Lakers’ 96-84 win.

He played an all-around game, collecting four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks with zero turnovers in 30 minutes. He was eight for 14 from the field. He missed all five of his three-pointers, but Thiero finished the game plus-13.

“I feel like I was capable of doing this,” Thiero said. “It’s not different from things I was doing in the G League last year. I feel like I got real comfortable in the G League, how to play and everything and just took that break and still trying to get back to healthy and everything and finally getting to go out and play. I feel like I sped myself up a little bit and now I’m slowing down and letting the game come to me.”

Thiero played after missing the Lakers’ final game at the California Classic in San Francisco because of a right wrist injury.

He looked far more in control and at ease than he did in San Francisco.

“He just wasn’t rushed tonight,” Lakers summer league coach Ty Abbott said. “He took what was in front of him. He attacked matchups. He understood that there was going to be some paint swarming. Those guys are going to try to flood and meet him at the rim and he made the right pass. And then when he started doing that, it started to open up for him and he was able to finish at the rim.”

Thiero was asked to critique his windmill dunk, which was his first highlight of the game and one that had fans cheering.

But Thiero was not impressed.

“The windmill was nice, but it wasn’t my best windmill,” Thiero said. “I’d probably say that was one of my worst windmills. I didn’t have my footing. I went back and watched it on video and I didn’t really like it.”

Thiero believed his chemistry with rookie Cameron Carr and his defense stood out. He also said Lakers coach JJ Redick had conversations with him about being a better defender.

“Just trying to go out there and cause havoc,” Thiero said. “JJ, he says that the things he wants, you know, we need a point-of-attack, on-ball defender and everything. So, just trying to go out there and be that, try and get reps in defending and then, offensively, just trying to play basketball, just trying to make the game more simple for myself.”

Carr also played against the Thunder after being limited by a bothersome toenail in his last game. He had another solid game with 18 points on seven-for-13 shooting.